top

The Power of Community. How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba lost over half its oil imports. They reorganized, went full-tilt green, and has survived surprisingly well. What Cuba did could become a model for the future, because not only is oil running out, the use of it contributes to global warming.

Cuba transitioned from large scale farming, with its heavy use of oil-based fertilizer and pesticides to small organic farms and urban gardens. Not only do they use vastly less oil now, their food is primarily organic and gthus much healthier!

The transformation of Cuban agriculture to an organic model is an inspiring tale, one that a lot more people should be familiar with. On the other hand, they “survived” until Chavez opened up the oil flow from Venezuela. Before that, they had constant, extended blackouts and other assorted problems. These continue to a lesser extent than during the Special Period.

So, it’s worth noting that these changes towards an organic model have not been adopted in Venezuela, where gas is still essentially free and Caracas is choking in fumes.